Let The "Amen!" Sound From His People Again

"Amen!" You've heard it said in church, after prayer, after a song, even mid-sermon perhaps. You may have heard it said in the world, when some speaker says something really well or fitting. "Can I get an Amen!?" Incidentally, I remember as a kid thinking that what people were saying was "all men". And that seemed odd, and it would have been odd. But when I was corrected that it was "amen" not "all men", that didn't really bring the clarity that I was looking for. What does this word actually mean I wondered.

It was only in college that the true meaning of "Amen" finally stuck. In learning the Greek word amēn, the definition given in the book was "verily, truly, let it be". Nothing like flashcards to get something permanently lodged in the brain! But there in that little definition was the basic meaning. "verily, truly, let it be". Amen is a word of agreement, and it is a word of emphasis.

The word comes from a Hebrew root that means "truth". That's why it is often translated "truly". Notice how Jesus uses the word Amen. Every time you hear him say, "truly, truly, I say to you", you are reading "amen, amen". In that case it is a word that adds weight and emphasis to what he is about to say. He doesn't wait for us to agree with him; he pre-empts our agreement with a statement that what He says is the truth. As for the doubling up of the Amen, that adds an additional emphasis in the classic Hebrew style. This formula occurs 25 times in the gospel of John alone. Historically, in the life of the church, we use "Amen" in this sense of agreeing with something that has just been said. We hear the Word of God read or preached and we add to it our "Amen!". This is something that we've always done, and ought to continue doing as the people of God.

One of the problems in churches today is consumerism. Now this might seem like I'm changing the subject for a minute, but trust me, we'll bring it back together in the end. Consumerism is basically where people will seek out a church to receive certain goods for themselves. It is to view church almost solely on a basis of self-interest. The church-consumer asks questions like: What does this church do for me? What am I getting out of this? Am I being fed here? Do I like this experience, this place, this pastor, these people? etc. Sadly, the pews are filled with consumers these days. Especially here in the West in evangelical churches.

Now one of the ways that we try to fight against this consumer mindset is with our liturgy. You see, some churches play into the consumer mindset by basically making church a product to be consumed, a production to be received, and not a service to be participated in. And this can be seen in the liturgy. Everything is done up front from the stage, and nothing is done from the seats. But church on a Sunday is meant to be an assembly of Saints not a night out at the movies. It's not entertainment. It's not passive consumption. Stepping into church should be less like stepping into theatre seats to watch a performance, and more like stepping into the choir loft to sing your part. It's less like joining a crowd of spectators on the sidelines, and more like joining an army heading into battle. It's involving. It's participatory. It requires something of you.

And that's where our liturgy comes in. The congregation has a part to play on a Sunday morning. Active singing, active praying, active listening and receiving of the Word of God read and preached. We come forward to receive the Lord's supper,  we recite the Apostle's Creed among other things, and we add our amen. And in all of this we worship God together. We try to mitigate the consumer mindset by participating in all of these things, and by participating heartily.

Now, we could set up the best liturgy in the world, and that still won't necessarily change people's hearts. In the end God must stir us up to participate in all of these things heartily. And yet, sometimes the heart actually is there, but the hands and lips and voice just don't show it all that well, or the opportunity to engage isn't clearly understood. Consider this your notice - participation is strongly encouraged. Let me just say, a s a pastor, I long to hear the people of God singing and speaking and adding their "Amens" with strength. I love it when the congregation is engaged; not shy, not self-conscious, but bold and intent on worshipping God. I encourage you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to use your voices, to use your hands, to use your strength, to give full expression of your worship to God. I am calling upon you to worship Him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, to lift up your hands when the occasion calls for it, to sing in that Sunday choir with a full voice, to add your hearty amen to the prayers and the Scripture readings and the preaching, to participate and not to merely spectate.

May God stir us up that we would worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23), and with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28). May our worship increase in strength and potency, Sunday by Sunday. So as we so often sing – Let the "Amen" sound from His people again!